


Endlessly

by AngelsFallFirst



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelsFallFirst/pseuds/AngelsFallFirst
Summary: What if Lorelai Gilmore had accepted Christopher's proposal back in their High School days? What if Christopher had started working for Richard Gilmore's company? What if Rory and her parents had spent their togetherness in Hartford?And what if ... what if Luke and Lorelai had met on a different occasion?[Javajunkie]
Relationships: Lorelai Gilmore/Christopher Hayden, Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Luke could not believe it.

There was a family in this house now, a _family_. Mother, father and a kid.

This beautiful, old house that seemed more like a museum than a playground for kids, was now occupied by some snobs who didn't know what kind of history this house held.

Luke crossed his arms and watched the movers carrying a huge, modern and white couch into the Twickham house.

 _Modern._ Thus place didn't go with modern.

Besides that, Luke had wanted it.

As Joshua Twickham had been dying, he had went straight to him, talking to him. But the old man had already set up his last will and apparently he had given his house to his cousin's son.

And this son obviously had a family. A wife and a daughter.

Luke watched them, the kid was carrying a lot of books inside. The dark haired woman was just standing and watching, while being on her mobile phone. Great. Another rich family with a spoiled brat, a hard working man who probably had an affair with his secretary and a fancy woman who was banging their gardener.

Or something like that.

Okay, to be honest the girl didn't seem like the typical wild child which was running around all day, screaming and shooting water at everyone with water pistols.

He turned around and went back to the diner. He knew he would meet this family soon enough and shouldn't make up stories about then.

He honestly couldn't wait to meet the family who had been lucky enough to inherit his dream house.

•

Time passed by.

It was a Wednesday afternoon in October, the year of 1996.

The leaves were orange and Luke was cleaning cups, deep in thoughts. It was a little after four in the afternoon and he was alone in the diner, which was rare to that time.

He appreciated the silence, though and used the free time to think about some stuff. Mostly he thought about Rachel. She wa gone for a year now and Luke missed her madly.

She called him a lot. She sent him pictures and postcards. But she never visited.

Luke had given up hope of her return already, yet he wasn't able to think of having a relationship with another woman than Rachel.

Until that afternoon, seven minutes after four, as the door went open and a woman entered.

She looked a bit lost to Luke, despite her sunglasses that made her face not completely visible to him.

"Are you open?" she asked and Luke huffed.

"What does the sign say?"

"Open," the woman answered and walked to the counter, sitting down on a stool far away from him. She took off her sunglasses and pulled out a book, opening it and starting to read.

Luke walked over to her. "What can I bring you?"

"Coffee," the woman replied quietly and without looking up from her book.

Luke turned around to start preparing the coffee and as he was done, he shoved it over, along with a donut. "That one's for free, cause you seem sad," he pointed out and the woman looked up.

And Luke's world stopped to move.

Her eyes were the deepest ocean blue he had ever seen. The most beautiful blue for sure. Dark like a stormy sea yet light like the sky in summer. She smiled lightly and due to this breathtaking smile, he really forgot to breathe.

She was beautiful. She was _breathtakingly gorgeous._

Luke had never believed in love at first sight - and now he was experiencing it.

"Thank you," she said gently and returned to her book. Luke went back to his cups, his eyes not leaving her.

Rachel was completely forgotten by now.

The woman's flat, dark brown hair looked so soft and silky, he wanted to touch it. If it was her natural colour? If she was wearing contact lenses?

What was she reading?

What was her name?

Where did she live?

Luke wanted to start a conversation but he didn't know how.

So he waited until she took a sip of the coffee, eagerly waiting to ask if it was good.

But it wasn't necessary - the woman's wide, blue eyes turned to him once she had nipped on the mug.

"Wow, this is by far the best coffee I've ever had!" she said and finally the smile of her lips reached her eyes. Now her eyes were shining too, which made her even more beautiful.

"Thanks," Luke breathed. He was scared that, if he said more than that, his voice would break.

He was shaking. His heart was beating. _Who was_ _she_ _??_

It was making him crazy. He needed to know. What if she wasn't from here and he'd never see her again?

He had to ask. Now!

"Are you ... from here?"

"Stars Hollow?"

Luke nodded.

"No, I'm from Hartford."

"Oh." At least now Luke where to find her.

The woman sighed. "But ... I recently moved here. Against my will." She grimaced and Luke felt hopeful again.

"Moved to Stars Hollow against your will, hm? I feel you, this town is crazy."

"No, it's not that, it's ..." The woman sighed again. "We had a beautiful house and my daughter went to a great school but then my husband inherited this old house over there and decided we should move here."

Oh.

_Oh_ _!_

Luke's heart was stinging at the mentions of a daughter, a husband and the Twickham house. Now he also saw the golden ring shining on her left hand. How had he not seen it?

She was the fancy woman on the cell phone.

"It's a beautiful house," was all he could say to hide his disappointment.

"Sure, it is. But now I can go an hour to work and back and my daughter is going to a new school and she'll need a new babysitter and won't be able to see her grandparents as often anymore and ... everything just turned out to be complicated. And I wasn't allowed to say anything against it, my husband decided everything. When I said I didn't want to move, he just said I should give it a chance." She took another sip of her coffee. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't bother you with my problems. You're no barkeeper." She chuckled.

"That may be true but the counter gives the diner a kind of a bar feeling." He smiled at her. "I don't mind. Go on."

"No, I'm done. I mean, of course I'm used to the fact I'm not allowed to say what I think. Ever since we got married, it feels like I've done a mistake."

"So ... why don't you get a divorce?" Luke asked carefully. "You don't need to answer that if you don't want to."

"Honestly, I don't care to whom I'm saying this." The woman stared at her donut. "It's because of my daughter. She's my everything and I don't want to disappoint her. I want her to have a happy life with her parents and everything she deserves. She's the best kid in this world and she'd die if her parents would divorce. She loves me and she loves her dad and she thinks were the best family out there." She laughed dryly. "She's a dreamy kid. Doesn't see the cruelty of life."

"How old is she?"

"Twelve," the woman replied with a small smile.

"Twelve? But you're only like twenty-five!"

The woman laughed loudly. "I appreciate that, really. You did a good guess, though, I'm twenty-eight."

Luke started calculating and came to the conclusion that she had been sixteen when she had had her child.

"Yes," the woman said bitterly as she saw his face. "I was that young. Are you gonna judge me?"

"No, never," Luke said quickly. "I was just reminded of something. My sister was the same age when she had her son."

"Oh. Okay, sorry, I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't. Her son is kind the brat, though." Luke chuckled.

"Oh, I'm lucky, I know." The woman smiled. "Rory is so sweet and well behaved and she reads all day, is superb in school and she wants to study in Harvard. That's her dream."

"High expectations," Luke agreed. _Rory_ _._ What a unique name - especially for a girl. He had went to school with a Rory, but this one had been a boy. Now - what was her mother's name?

He opened his mouth, eager to ask, but the woman was faster. "I should go now. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing," Luke replied without thinking. "It's on me. Thanks for the nice talk."

The woman shook her head and pulled her wallet out of her purse. "I don't do that." She placed a five dollar bill on the desk. "For the coffee. Keep the rest. And please keep the donut, I can't eat sweet stuff."

"Why, are you allergic?" Luke asked and put the donut back to where he had taken it.

"No," the woman said quietly and stood up. "Thanks for the talk ... what's your name?"

"Luke," Luke replied, still wondering why she couldn't eat sweets.

"Luke, like Luke's?" the woman asked and Luke had to grin.

"Indeed."

"You are _the_ Luke?" Now the woman grinned as well.

"It seems so," Luke chuckled and now the woman reached back into her purse.

"Here," she said and gave him a small card that looked like a business card.

After taking it, Luke realised that it was a business card.

He swallowed as he saw the photo of her, about five years younger, and just as beautiful as in reality. Her blue eyes were shining even on the photo.

Below it said:

 _Lorelai_ _V. Hayden_  
E _vent and hotel management_  
 _Executive_ _Director_ _at_ _Candlewood Suites,_ _Hartford_

And below that an address and telephone number.

Luke stared at the card. "You're a manager at this hotel in Hartford?" he asked. "Wow."

"Thanks?" Lorelai chuckled.

"Okay, so if I ever need a room for a night, I'll contact you." He winced at how strange that sounded. "So then, Lorelai V. Hayden - thanks for your company. I enjoyed it."

"Thanks for listening," Lorelai replied and put her sunglasses on again. "I might need it again someday."

"You're always welcome here."

Lorelai smiled and left the diner.

And Luke was left speechless.

_Lorelai._

Lorelai Hayden, a hotel manager. Beautiful, gorgeous, somehow sad hotel manager.

He needed to see her again soon.

•

Luckily he didn't have to wait long.

Only two days later, on Friday, she entered the diner again. It was rush hour and Luke was really busy, but as he saw her, time seemed to stand still.

She smiled at him and he froze in his tracks, smiling back at her. He hoped she would sit down at the counter again, but she looked around and then headed towards a table at the window. The table was already occupied by a young, brunette girl.

 _Her daughter!_ , Luke realised as Lorelai dropped a kiss on the girl's forehead and then sat down opposite of her. The girl was already drinking a lemonade that one of his employers had brought to her.

Luke quickly went to their table before someone else could.

"What can I bring you? Coffee?"

Lorelai laughed. "You know me well already, Luke."

Luke noted it down and looked at Lorelai's daughter. Rory. She had light brown hair and besides her bright blue eyes she didn't look at all like Lorelai, which bothered him a bit, because it meant that she probably looked like her father.

"I'm Luke," he introduced himself to her. "Can I bring you a piece of cake?"

Rory's eyes started shining. "Can I, Mom??" she asked and Lorelai nodded lightly.

"Okay, but don't tell yiur father about it."

"I won't, Mom. I won't," Rory promised and Luke swallowed. Was that the reason why Lorelai couldn't eat sweet stuff? Her husband?

"Do you want something to eat as well?" he asked her carefully and Lorelai nodded lightly.

"I'll have the Caesar salad, please."

"Good choice," Luke said and returned to the kitchen, deep in thoughts.

Was that guy prohibiting his family from eating cake and donuts? Why, health reasons? Or did he want them to stay skinny?

Luke didn't know Lorelai's husband but he knew for sure that he hated him. Alone because he was married to Lorelai.

He could be the nicest guy alive and Luke would hate him with a passion.

Just for being married to a woman he barely knew.

Luke was back to his usual grumpy mood as he returned to Rory's and Lorelai's table. He placed down the plates and mug without a word and returned to the counter, watching Lorelai V. Hayden and her daughter interacting for a while.

They seemed to get along great.

They were laughing and talking non stop, sharing memories of their day.

At some point Lorelai gave her daughter a twenty dollar note, stood up and hugged her, before leaving the diner with a wave into Luke's direction.

The diner was less filled by now and Luke went to Rory's table, taking the bowl (Lorelai had only eaten half of the salad). "Your mom's gone already?"

"She had to go back to work. She's got one and a half hours off and she works in Hartford, so driving here in her lunch break already takes more than half of her break, so she only stays here for twenty minutes. I told her she didn't have to come here every day, I have the babysitter as a company, but she said it's the only time of the day we get to spend alone together."

Luke was fascinated by Rory's way of talking. She seemed so grown up for her age already. "Alone ... without your dad you mean?"

Rory's eyes widened. "Don't tell her I said that."

"Of course not," Luke promised. "What's with your dad?"

"Nothing," Rory said quickly. "My dad is super cool and he loves me and my mom."

"Okay," Luke mumbled, not missing how nervous Rory was all of a sudden. Had she lied? Was her father mean to her?

Violent? Did he hurt them?

Was he an alcoholic? Drug abuser?

Luke hated him more and more and - without even wanting it - an urge of protecting those gorgeous and nice Hayden girls bubbled up inside of him.

And he would.

He would befriend them and - if needed - save them from Mr. Hayden.


	2. Chapter 2

Lorelai and Rory visited every day. And it was always the same pattern.

From Monday to Friday, Rory was there first. Always to different times. Luke suspected that she walked here right after school. And only a few minutes after that, Lorelai arrived. She stayed for a maximum of twenty-five minutes, then she left again.

And on Saturday and Sunday Lorelai came alone, sat down at the bar and had a coffee while reading. It was always a different book. She and Rory seemed to read a lot and Luke enjoyed watching her.

He restrained himself from starting a small talk, since there was always someone who loved to spread rumours (like Patty LaCosta and Babette Dell) somewhere close to him. If Luke now showed interest in a married woman - perish the thought!

But one day during the week Lorelai came in the morning already.

At six she walked, no, almost fell inside the diner, followed by Kirk Gleason, who was usually his first customer.

"Hi, Kirk, good morning, Lorelai," Luke greeted them both.

Kirk sat down on his usual table and Luke brought him his usual breakfast, before he leant down on the counter, looking right into Lorelai's tired, blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

Lorelai shook her head. "I barely slept. I need a jumbo cup of coffee, please, and maybe a funnel."

"You'll get the biggest cup I have but you won't get a funnel," Luke replied gently and while the coffee was running down into the mug, he turned back to her. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Different stuff keeping me awake," Lorelai mumbled. "It's not important, you don't need to listen to my whining."

"I want to, though," Luke said and took a donut. "Eat. And then talk."

"Luke, no -"

"Lorelai," he said slowly, enjoying the way her name felt on his tongue. "Your husband ain't here. Eat. You won't gain ten pounds all of a sudden."

Lorelai's eyes went wide. "How - did Rory-?"

"I'm not dumb." Luke's heart was stinging. For real? He didn't let her eat sweets so she wouldn't gain weight?? "Though ... Rory seems a little nervous when talking of her father. Be honest ... is he hurting you?"

Lorelai smiled lightly. "No, Luke. It's not that."

"What is it? Does he hurt Rory?"

"He would never! He loves Rory more than anything and he's a good dad to her."

"What is it then? You seem so sad all the time."

"It's ... a long and complicated story, Luke. But it's nothing about Chris being violent or anything else, I swear."

_Chris._

Now Luke knew his name and even though Lorelai had told him he wasn't violent, there was nothing she could say to make him hate Chris less.

"But he makes you lose sleep. He makes you tired and sad. Right?"

Lorelai hesitated but then she nodded. "Not exactly like you said it. It's not _him_ that makes me sad ..." She shrugged. "But all in all, yes. You could say so."

"Okay. That's already enough to tell that you're in a toxic marriage."

Now Lorelai smiled. "It goes far back, Luke. I married my best friend. Everything's much more complicated than it seems."

"Okay," Luke repeated quietly, looking a Kirk, who was busy with his newspapers. "Lorelai, you can tell me anything. I know we've only been talking for two weeks or something, if even, but you can trust me."

"I do trust you," Lorelai said without hesitation.

"Why, you barely know me," Luke said, fascinated by how fast she had answered.

"I know people, Luke. I work with people. I can sense if they're trustworthy or not."

"So you'd recognise a serial killer by talking to him?" Luke asked and Lorelai put her hand on her chest.

"Oh my - are you -?"

Luke shrugged. "Can't you tell?"

Lorelai laughed out loudly. "You aren't. I think you're ... you're the quiet guy. People think you're shy but you aren't, you just appreciate the silence and calmness. Also you're a passionate lover and you mourn after the woman who left you to travel the world ... let's say a year ago?"

"Damn," Luke breathed. "That was on point. How do you -" His face froze. " _Who_ told you? I'll kill him."

"Don't kill her. Mia told me."

"Mia - Mia Bass? From the Independence Inn??"

"Yup." Lorelai nipped on her coffee calmly.

"How do you know Mia?"

Lorelai sighed. "Don't tell anyone. I applied there. As a manager. Mia wants to move and it looks good for me."

"You want to manage the Independence? Wow. So you can be closer to Stars Hollow?"

"Yeah, because it's my dream town," Lorelai replied dryly. "I want to spend more time with my daughter. And the Independence Inn would be perfect for me. My parents would kill me, but I don't care. I've worked for the Candlewood long enough and I need a change."

"I feel you," Luke answered. "So you applied there, went there for a job interview ... and talked about me??"

Lorelai laughed again. "Don't be flattered. Mia just asked if I knew anyone from here already and I said I only know you. Then she spent about five minutes swooning over you, she seems to have a thing for you. The rest of the forty minutes I spent with her were about me."

"Forty minutes? Wow. It looks good for you indeed, Mia must have liked you."

"It was weird," Lorelai said quietly. "I told her everything. More than I've told you so far. I just ... trusted her somehow."

"Your instinct's right, then," Luke said gently. "Mia is trustworthy indeed."

"Yeah. I could feel that."

Lorelai's blue, gentle eyes rested on Luke, who almost went crazy due to the eye contact. Even though she had barely slept she still looked gorgeous.

"So - why couldn't you sleep?" he asked again and Lorelai tore her eyes away from him.

"I don't know ..."

"I'm trustworthy, remember?"

"You are." Lorelai sighed. "Okay. I had a huge fight with my parents."

"Why?"

"They want to see us every Friday for a family dinner. I told them no way, see, I have shifts to work and sometimes they fall on a Friday night. It's a hotel, for God's sake, not a store with humane opening times. Mom doesn't care, she was all like _you're_ _the_ _manager, Lorelai,_ _can't_ _you_ _shift_ _your shift to another shift?_ Don't laugh, it ain't funny."

"Not laughing," Luke promised.

"Anyway, she wants that only to see her granddaughter and son-in-law, I am quite annoying in her eyes. So I suggested that Chris and Rory could visit her without me if I'm busy, and then she told me what a bad mother I was to let my daughter down for a Friday night dinner, blah blah blah. Nothing I do is right, Luke. She hates me and my dad hates me, too." Her head dropped down on the counter.

"How could they hate you?" Luke asked softly, fighting the urge to pat her head. If Kirk only wasn't there ...

"Well, do you think they are happy when I got pregnant at the age of fucking fifteen?" Lorelai spoke into her arm, but Luke could hear that she sounded dry.

"No but ... don't they love Rory?"

Now Lorelai lifted her head, smiling gently. "They do. Everyone loves Rory. She's a sweetheart and a better daughter than I have ever been. But - They don't love me, you see? They always wanted me to be like Rory. But I wasn't."

"But you're still their daughter."

"Sure." Lorelai shrugged. "So how did your parents react when your sister told them she was pregnant?"

"Uhm -" Luke leaned back, crossing his arms and avoiding Lorelai's eyes. "My mother didn't react, she was already dead when it happened."

"Oh." Luke could hear the surprise in Lorelai's voice. "Damn. I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"If course you didn't, don't be. I figured that Mia had told you."

"No, not at all."

"Okay. Well then, my mom was dead already and my dad threw a fit. He raged so hard, I thought he'd hurt Liz. But he calmed down as soon as Liz started crying and he took her in his arms and told her everything would be fine. He supported her until the end."

"Until the end?" Lorelai asked and Luke winced.

"Until he ... died."

"Oh."

This time he looked up at her, catching her pitiful face.

"I am so -"

"It's okay."

"No! I'm so dumb, Luke. I just keep ranting about my parents while yours ... I'm sorry. Super, super sorry."

"Lorelai, really. It's okay. I'm over it. It's been years."

"How many?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"Hm... my mom died when I was fourteen and my dad died when I was twenty-six."

"And now you are?" Lorelai's voice was quiet.

"Thirty-one."

"That's five years. That's not an eternity."

"Lorelai, I'm okay. Really. Let's talk about you again, okay? So your parents threw a fit, too?"

"They didn't. They don't throw fits. They ... uhm ... were pretty calm. Shocked, yes, angry and disappointed, but they immediately came up with a plan. Together with Christopher's parents, of course."

"They didn't ... want you to have an abortion, right?"

Lorelai's face darkened. "Chris' parents did. They're even worse than mine, never thought that was possible. But no, my dad came up with the idea that Chris and I should marry and Chris should start working for his company. It happened a little different, though, first I had Rory, then I finished High School, then Chris moved in with us and started working for dad. When Rory was two, Chris and I got married and we three moved into an apartment. I started studying but dropped out after about a year. Then I started working in a small hotel outside of Hartford, until I came upon the Candlewood. I started as a maid but I refreshed my studies with an evening class and worked hard so I became the manager, then we moved into a house once I made more money, Rory started school and Chris got promoted ... and I think that's it. Now we're here."

"Wow," Luke made. "So Chris and you got married only because of Rory, I guess?"

Lorelai sighed. "Yes."

"Not because of love? Sorry if it's too personal."

"No, it's okay. Well, at first we thought it was for the best. We did love each other after all. But after a few years we realise we didn't do it anymore."

"So why don't you get a divorce?" Luke asked carefully.

"Rory," Lorelai responded immediately.

"Right, you said so already."

"Yeah. Plus, my parents would kill me. And where would I go? Who would keep Rory? Chris wouldn't let me take her, he loves her too much and so do I."

"You could share custody," Luke suggested and Lorelai shrugged.

"I don't know, Luke. It's fine at the moment."

"It's not. You're unhappy."

"It'll pass," Lorelai decided and got up. "I have to go now. Thanks again for listening ... I am so sorry for sharing my eternal problems with you."

"It's my pleasure to listen and help," Luke said gently and Lorelai shot a smile at him, so breathtaking that Luke's heart skipped a beat.

"You're a good friend. We are friends, aren't we?"

"We are," Luke said promptly and Lorelai flashed another smile at him.

"See you soon, okay?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"I'll be here, just drop by," Luke said and waved at her awkwardly, as she left the diner.

He looked after her, his head spinning.

He was asking himself if he could somehow bring her to leave her husband.

Not because he wanted her to be with him (or maybe he did, he had no idea), but because she was definitely unhappy and in a toxic marriage. She couldn't sleep anymore, she had said.

She was sad, she was unhappy. And Luke knew he was the one to save her.

But how?

He could try to win her heart ... if that worked. She was way out of his league. He was not even worth her smile, let alone more.

The image of him and Lorelai kissing popped up in front of his inner eye and he almlst got a heart attack.

_Wow._

He gasped.

"Luke? Are you okay?"

Luke shook himself and eyed Kirk, who was now standing in front of him.

"What?"

"I asked you something."

"What did you ask, Kirk?"

"Who that lady from before was. You seem to know her. I heard Lorelai, but who is she exactly?"

"Lorelai Hayden, a new inhabitant of Stars Hollow," Luke answered. "Why?"

"Because she's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," Kirk said dreamily and Luke nodded shortly.

"Don't waste your breath, Kirk, she's married."

"Oh," Kirk made and his face mirrored Luke's feelings when he thought about the fact that Lorelai Hayden was married to Christopher Hayden:

Disappointed and crestfallen.


	3. Chapter 3

Luke was running around the diner, busy with serving. Lorelai and Rory hadn't visited in three days, but now it was Saturday and Luke dearly hoped she'd come alone today.

"What can I bring you?" he asked a man, kind of gruffily, as he missed Lorelai and her breathtaking smile. He had never thought he'd be addicted to a woman like that one day.

Even when he ha started dating Rachel, he had needed some space every second day.

"I heard your coffee is the best, I'll take one," the man replied and Luke nodded stiffly.

Great, now even customers ordering coffee reminded him of her.

"Anything to eat?"

"Still waiting for someone but once she arrives I'd like to," the man replied and Luke nodded again, turning around and leaving for the kitchen.

He told his newest employee, Caesar, the dishes that the customers were wishing for and then went to the coffee machine to prepare the hot beverage to several longing customers. While the brown liquid poured down, he couldn't get his mind off Lorelai.

And when he turned around, a familiar face started him.

It wasn't Lorelai - but almost.

Rory had come into the diner and sat down at the table of that man he was preparing coffee for.

Slowly Luke started to combine.

The man was young, not even thirty. If Rory was with him, that would make him ...

Christopher Hayden.

Sudden hate bubbled up in his chest and he wished he hadn't been nice to him.

He grabbed the cup that was for Christopher, ignored the other customers and went right to him and Rory, placing the cup down almost rudely. "Here. Hello, Rory."

Rory's face lightened up. "Hey, Luke! Do you know my dad already?"

"I don't," Luke said with a challenging look. Now that he was able to have a better look at him, he realised that he, plain, average Luke, was _definitely_ not playing in Lorelai's league.

Christopher was a good looking, young man and - the worst - he seemed nice.

"You're Luke? Lorelai has told me about you," he now said, not sounding angry or jealous at all. He reached out his hand. "Chris Hayden, pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Luke replied dryly, accepting his hand shake with a weird feeling. But at the same time he felt honoured. Lorelai had talked about him? How much? About what?

"I'd like a cup of cocoa, Luke!" Rory brought him back from his thoughts. "And a burger! Can I, dad?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Christopher replied immediately and Luke frowned.

"And for you, Chris?"

"How does the chicken salad taste here?" Chris asked back and Luke shrugged.

"Didn't Lorelai tell you that? I guess it tastes like everywhere."

"I'll take it, then," Chris spoke and Luke turned around.

Weird.

Lorelai had talked about him and his coffee but not about his food. Also she ordered a salad everytime she was here and never fully ate it. She ate the meat, the cheese, the tomatoes and a few salad leaves, but never the whole thing.

If she didn't like the salads, why did she order them?

 _So she_ _won't_ _gain too much weight,_ an angry voice in the back of Luke's head said loudly. _Chris is controlling her. And for Rory he plays the_ _good_ _father._ _It's_ _a farce!_

Luke couldn't believe how much he hated Chris. Lorelai was such a good woman, and a good wife for sure as well. Why did he do that to her?

He remembered how Lorelai defended him all the time. Maybe Luke was completely on the wrong track and Chris was a good guy after all.

But right now and to him it didn't seem so.

•

Luke brought their food and turned right to Rory. "I haven't seen your mom in a while, is she okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Christopher replied immediately, but Rory added something.

"She's sick."

"Oh no, what's wrong?" Luke asked, honestly concerned. She was sick and Christopher had simply replied that she was okay when she clearly wasn't.

"I don't know," Rory mumbled, suddenly not looking at Luke anymore, so he turned to her father.

"Is she alright?"

"I know you two are friends but it's none of your business," Chris said calmly. Once again he sounded whether unfriendly nor angry, on the contrary - he sounded quite polite!

"You're right," Luke said, getting that, if Lorelai was really sick, it indeed wasn't. But he worried about her mental wellbeing and if he thought that it was endangered, he knew he did have the right to know. "Would you at least give her a cup of coffee from me?" he asked and Chris laughed.

"Of course! She'll love that."

Luke nodded shortly, knowing that giving her coffee wasn't enough to heal her soul, but maybe it would be enough to make her at least smile.

•

Lorelai didn't visit him until Wednesday of the next week.

"Lorelai!" he called as she entered at quarter past four in the afternoon, when the diner was almost empty.

"Hi!" Lorelai returned just as cheerfully and let herself fall down on a bar stool. "Thanks for the coffee on Saturday," she said and dropped her purse on the bar. "Chris said you gave it to him for free. How much do I owe you?"

"Don't you get the meaning of free coffee?" Luke asked with a smile. "I don't want your money."

"Luuuke," Lorelai whined. "I feel bad about that."

"Don't feel bad. I wanted to do something for you, as I heard you were sick."

"Ugh. Yeah." Lorelai leaned across the counter. "Chris told me you asked about my health and that he said it was non of your business."

"He was right," Luke scoffed.

"Maybe, but I want to tell you anyway. You see ... every now and then I have PMS. And when I have that, I turn into this moody, mad person who hates everyone and everything, needs a lot of ice cream to calm down and cries all the time like a hysterical child. I was really unpleasant the last few days and I didn't want you to see me like that."

"I get that," Luke said and nodded at Lorelai. "You don't have to come everyday. I just got used to you already."

"Aww," Lorelai made and Luke could swear he saw her cheeks go darker.

For a while it was quiet, a few seconds Luke and Lorelai just stared in each other's eyes.

Then Lorelai moved.

"Oh, by the way!" she suddenly shouted and jumped off the stool. "I got great news!"

"Oh, do tell," Luke said, not sure what kind of great news they could share. Maybe something about Rory? But why would she him, he liked Rory, but they weren't exactly close.

Lorelai inhaled.

"I got accepted!" she then whispered at him and her blue eyes sparkled.

"Wait - at the Independence??"

"Yes!" Lorelai grinned at him. "Got a call days ago already, I'll be starting in December. Already quit at the Candlewood and I'll only be there for one more week, since I still have loads of vacation left. They hate me even more now." She chuckled. "But it's their own loss."

"Even more?" Luke asked with raised eyebrows. "You mean they hate you already?"

"Kind of. I'm not that nice at work, you know?" Lorelai shrugged.

"I can't imagine that," Luke spoke and shook his head. "No. I can't imagine you as the grumpy boss."

"Not grumpy!" Lorelai raised her finger. "Just strict. I am the funniest guy at Christmas parties, but during work they don't have a lot to laugh with me."

"I still can't imagine that. I think I need to see you in action."

"Oh, you can of course visit the Independence anytime, once I've started there," Lorelai said and leaned forth, looking at him with an almost flirty look. "To bring me coffee ..."

Now her voice _sounded_ flirty as well and Luke swallowed hard.

She was so hot.

And he was an idiot for being after her. She was married, for fuck's sake.

"Yeah, sure. Of course I'll do that," Luke replied. "Or I could just come to the Candlewood."

"Uh, you better don't," Lorelai said and changed the topic as fast as she could. "Anyway, I got about four weeks off, then. You're from Stars Hollow, what could I do during four weeks of vacation?"

"Hm, I like to go fishing, for example," Luke replied.

"Ugh, no, thanks." Lorelai shook herself. "Is there a cinema close to here?"

"Next one's in Woodbridge," Luke chuckled. "You can't do anything interesting here besides going to Luke's diner, Lorelai."

"I'll find a hobby, then," Lorelai mumbled. "Like ... like gardening. Hiking. Swimming."

"Swimming? In the lake? It's October, Lorelai."

The brunette threw a cheerful look at him. "I have a pool behind the house."

"Oh," Luke made. Right. The Hayden family was rich.

"If you'd ever like to come over for a swim, you may," Lorelai went on and Luke's mouth dropped open.

"You sure? Don't you think Chris could mind?"

"No, why would he -?" Lorelai started but stopped in the middle of the sentence. Her face changed from amused to thoughtful. "Hm. He could, right. Maybe he would mind."

That was weird.

At first Lorelai had seemed indifferent about the thought that Christopher could mind a foreign man swimming in his pool, invited by his wife. And then, all of a sudden, it seemed as if she had remembered that she and Chris were _married_ and that Luke was a stranger after all.

And a man.

Who fancied Christopher's wife (which of course no one besides Luke knew).

Weird. Very weird.

Lorelai now looked around the diner, probably looking for yet another new topic. "Are you going to celebrate Halloween?"

"Oh, good Lord, no," Luke replied almost immediately.

"Do you prefer Samhain?" Lorelai joked and Luke lifted his shoulders.

"I don't even know what to reply to this."

"Rory's a big fan of Halloween but we never really let her celebrate it. I think it's because of my parents, they never let me celebrate. I wasn't even allowed to wear a hat on this day, due to Halloween costume associations. Well, whatever."

"So let her do it now," Luke suggested and Lorelai sighed.

"I don't know. She befriended with that girl and I think they'd like to spend a night together and go trick-or-treating but ... I don't know. What if the girl's the wrong company for my little girl?"

"Which girl?" Luke asked. "Maybe I know her."

"Uhh - Lane Kim."

Luke had to grin. "Don't worry, she's a good girl. And Lane's mother won't let her go trick-or-treating."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. I know the family. I know Mrs Kim. Go to Kim's Antiques and see for yourself."

"Oh! I'll do that, thanks for the hint!" Lorelai replied happily and jumped up. "I need to go now, got the evening shift today."

"Sounds like fun," Luke replied dryly. "How long does your evening shift last?"

"Officially until ten, but I rarely leave before midnight. Job of a manager, you know?"

"I know." Luke grinned at her. "Have a nice day then, Mrs. Hayden."

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Danes," she said with a wink and grabbed her purse. "See ya."

"See you," Luke replied and watched her walk out of the door.

And as soon as she had jumped into her fancy, white car, he went into the kitchen.

"I got a delivery to make, would you take over for a while?"

"Sure, boss," Caesar replied and Luke left the diner only a minute after Lorelai, hoping she was driving right to her hotel.

•

Luke entered and his mouth dropped open.

The hotel looked beautiful. And expensive.

He swallowed and put off his cap, sensing that his casual look wasn't fitting with the style of the hotel.

He went to the reception, where a blonde girl greeted him. She was wearing a dark red uniform, shirt and skirt. "Are you checking in?"

"Actually, no. I just wanted to take a look at the place. I have never been at a nice place as this one."

The girl frowned. "Oh. Well, if you're causing trouble, I'll have to call the manager."

"And he'll do what?" Luke challenged the girl.

" _She's_ gonna throw you out and sue you."

"I'd like to see that," Luke said and leaned against the counter. "Call your manager, please."

The girl's eyes never left him, while she pressed a button on the telephone and picked off the earpiece. "Lorelai?" she said. "There's a man here who refuses to leave. He hasn't got a room." Then she hung up and pointed at Luke. "Stay here!"

Luke didn't think of leaving. He waited for Lorelai patiently, and as she came, his mouth dropped.

Her uniform wasn't, unlike the blonde girl's, consisting of a shirt and a skirt. No, she was wearing a dark red, tight pantsuit, on which a name plate said _L._ _Hayden_ , and high heels.

She looked ... everything that a woman could look.

Beautiful, sexy, gorgeous, curvy and slim at the same time. Tall, amazing and breathtaking. Simply every positive adjective that Luke could think of - that was how Lorelai looked to him.

Now she crossed her arms and looked at him strictly. Luke's heart started racing as Lorelai's blue eyes eyed him from head to toe.

"Are you stalking me?" she asked and Luke could hear the blonde girl inhaling sharply.

"You know him??"

Lorelai ignored her. "I told you not to follow me."

"I wanted to see the place where you made your career."

"Now you've seen it, drive back now."

"Sorry," Luke said. "I hope you're not mad at me for following you."

Lorelai laughed. "Not at all. I could never be mad at you." She uncrossed her arms again and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. "I'm even honoured you followed me like a creep. And now go home, please, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Looking forward," Luke replied gently and turned to the blonde girl. "Sorry for scaring you. I'm Luke, a friend of Lorelai."

"Oh." The girl released her breath and Lorelai laughed again.

"He's harmless, Gerda."

"He looked a bit scary," Gerda mumbled before Luke left.

And the whole drive back home he couldn't forget Lorelai in that dark red suit, how much it had suited her and how much the colour suited her. How incredibly tall she was and how stunningly beautiful she had looked.

He cursed himself for following her - it had been creepy after all. And embarrassing and simply strange of him. What on earth had possessed him to follow her like a puppy??

He had to apologise to her soon and promise that he would never do it again.

Also he knew he should try to stay away from her completely. But somehow alone the thought of staying away from her caused a stinging pain inside his chest.

And by the time he reached Stars Hollow, Luke was sure he had madly fallen for Mrs. Hayden and that he couldn't do anything about it.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning!"

A cheerful Lorelai Hayden walked inside the diner, followed by - once again - Kirk, who looked at her with puppy eyes.

"Hey, Lorelai. I see you have a stalker."

"I have two, actually," Lorelai replied casually. "One of them followed me into my hotel yesterday."

"I am so sorry," Luke blurted out. "No idea what's wrong with me. I guess I just wanted to see where you work. Sorry."

"No big deal." Lorelai shrugged it off and sat down on her favourite seat by the counter. Luke didn't ask, he poured coffee into her cup.

"Are you better? Not PMSing anymore?"

"What?" Lorelai looked confused for a second, then her mouth formed an O. "Oh! I'm better. Way better." She smiled at him. "Thanks for asking."

Now that was weird. _Again_ _._

Luke slowly started to realise that something was strange about Lorelai.

But still, those feelings he harboured for her would never narrow down, no matter what was wrong with her. Maybe _she_ was a serial killer after all? Luke chuckled.

No, never.

"What's so funny?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, you," Luke replied. "Wait a second."

He took the plates he had prepared for Kirk and went over to his table.

"She is so beautiful," Kirk whispered at Luke, who nodded.

"And so married," he reminded him again, which made Kirk sigh.

"Yeah."

Luke returned to Lorelai, who pointed at Kirk behind her with her thumb. "What's wrong with him?"

"Kirk? Oh, he's just love sick, don't mind him," Luke replied and Lorelai's mouth dropped open again. She turned around.

"Poor thing! Maybe I should -"

"No," Luke said quickly. "He'll be fine, he'll quickly fall in love with another girl. You don't know him, he changes his crushes like every week."

"Hm, okay." Lorelai turned back to Luke. "Now why were you laughing?"

"Honestly? Because you're a mysterious woman. I thought that maybe you're a serial killer."

"Maybe we both are, hm?" Lorelai replied.

"See, that's what I mean. You're not denying it."

"Yes, because I don't get what you mean with that I'm mysterious."

"Okay, honestly?" Luke took a deep breath, collecting all his courage. "Sometimes it seems you're forgetting that you're married. You flirt with people and you seem to forget about Christopher at all. Or that you were sick because of your ... female complaints. And you didn't want me to follow you to your hotel. Everything's just mysterious."

Lorelai looked at him for a while, then she smiled. "You think I flirt with people?"

"That's what I heard," Luke mumbled. "People talk about you."

Now Lorelai frowned. "Who?"

"The gossip girls of course," Luke said with a wave into the direction of Miss Patty's studio. "It's okay, I know you married young -"

"But I don't flirt," Lorelai defended herself. "I talk to everyone the same way. I don't flirt, am I flirting with you?"

Luke swallowed. "Sometimes ... it feels like you do."

Lorelai leaned back, her cheeks dark. "Oh. I'm sorry, then."

"No, it's fine. I know you're faithful."

"What makes you think so?" Lorelai asked sharply and Luke backed away from the counter between them.

"Christopher knows about me," he replied bravely and Lorelai nodded slowly.

"Ah. Right. Okay, yeah, that's the reason."

"That's what I mean!" Luke called. "What kind of answer is that, Lorelai? That sounded so sarcastic."

"It _was_ sarcastic," Lorelai said quietly, not looking at him directly. "Everything's much more complicated than you think, Luke."

"So you weren't PMSing?" Luke guessed and Lorelai shook her head softly.

"Complicated, Luke. Very complicated."

"Did he -"

"Don't even ask. He didn't hurt me. He has never hurt me before." Lorelai exhaled quietly. "Not physically, that is."

"Not physically!" Luke shouted. "Are you serious? Why are you still with that guy?"

"You've met him, you tell me," Lorelai replied calmly. "Is he a decent fellow? More than that, I would say. Is he a good dad? He's the best dad I could imagine. I love him, Luke."

Well, that stung.

Luke nodded shortly. "I respect that, Lorelai. Sorry that I said something. But if you ever want to talk -"

"You're here. I'll think of it." Lorelai showed her shining white teeth as she smiled. "So, I'm mysterious?"

"Very much. You've told me a few things about you, but I still don't know much about you."

"Is that so? Would you like to get to know me better? We could meet for a dinner or a movie."

Luke's mouth fell open. "Uhm, yeah," he said, dumbfounded.

Lorelai sunk her voice down. "I got time tonight. What about you?"

"Yeah, me too," Luke answered immediately. "But where -?"

"Your place?" Now Lorelai was purring again, flirting! Even though she had denied that she flirted. Didn't she notice?? "Do you have a VCR?"

"I don't even know what that is," Luke replied weakly.

"A device to play movies with, Luke," Lorelai giggled and Luke grimaced.

"Oh. I don't even own a TV, Lorelai."

"Wait, what?" Lorelai looked confused. "So what do you do all the time alone?" She grinned. "You don't have to answer if it's too private."

"No, no, you've already answered very private questions as well. Hm, I go outside mostly. Do sports. I go for a run, go fishing, play softball, basketball and baseball, I go cycling or hiking and at home I lift weights."

"You're sporty, wow," Lorelai said. "No wonder you got a great body."

Luke's heart stood still. "Lorelai. You're flirting."

"No, I'm just saying the truth."

Lorelai's words weren't matching the expression on her face. She was still smiling lightly, with her eyebrows lifted up like she was expecting him to flirt back.

But Luke didn't jump on that bandwagon.

"Okay. I ... I also like to read, actually. Not classics like you, don't think I haven't noticed your Brontë books. But I like to read crime stories and even thrillers. I'm not that much into romance or fantasy, though."

"That sounds nice and please don't think I'm much into classics," Lorelai chuckled. "It's because of Rory. That kid is too smart for her own good and she sometimes uses words I don't understand. I'm reading books like Wuthering Heights to keep up with my twelve year old daughter. Sad but true."

"Wow," Luke mumbled. "That girl."

"I know." Lorelai smiled proudly and glided off her chair. "So - half past eight? We'll find something else to do instead of watching TV."

"Sounds good," Luke said, not able to believe that Lorelai was coming to his place. To his little apartment above the diner.

"Well then, I gotta leave," Lorelai announced and wanted to turn around, but Luke grabbed her hand, holding her back.

"Wait," he breathed. "I ... you ..." he threw a look at Kirk, who was staring out of the window. Then he said, very, very quietly: "You got a great body as well."

And Lorelai grinned broadly. "I know," she whispered back, freeing herself from him and turning around, paying attention to sway with her hips while walking to the door. "Bye, Kirk! Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine," she shouted before she left the diner.

 _Wow,_ Luke thought. She had actually swayed her hips for him.

Sexy, but ... this wasn't what a married woman should do.

•

He had cooked lasagna and he had poured some red wine into two wine glasses. Also he had lit some candles, dimmed the lights and now he was looking around his apartment, hating how much the scenery screamed "date".

At half past eight he went downstairs into the diner and - his heart jumped - Lorelai was already waiting in front of the door.

With his heart racing a marathon he opened the door to let her inside, hoping she hadn't dressed up.

But she had.

Her hair was straight as always but she had put some dark eye shadow onto her eyelids. Her lips were dark red. She smiled at him and his knees went wobbly.

"You dressed up for me?" she said cheerfully and Luke shook his head.

"I - uhm - didn't."

He locked the door behind them and Lorelai giggled.

"You're not wearing your hat and you're wearing a pullover instead of your typical flannel. I'd say you've dressed up."

"Okay, if you say so," Luke muttered. "Can I take off your coat?"

"Are you always that direct when it comes to taking off clothes?" Lorelai flirted and Luke was too confused to answer.

Especially as he had pulled the coat off of her and realised that she was wearing something that screamed "date" even louder than his apartment.

She was wearing a silky, black skirt that reached to her knees and a dark red blouse with long, waving sleeves. And her cut out, wow, that cut out ...

It seemed she wasn't shy to show what she got. Luke tried hard not to start counting the freckles on her chest, she'd notice he was staring.

Instead he looked at her face and started counting the freckles on her nose.

"Are you okay?" Lorelai asked, sounding amused.

"Yeah. You're just ... you're beautiful."

Her nose and cheeks blushed, making it harder for Luke to concentrate on her freckles. "Thank you," she said softly. "So ... should we go upstairs?"

"Yeah, but before we do that, I need to tell you something," Luke said and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. "My apartment is only one room."

"And?" Lorelai asked.

"You're used to different things."

Lorelai smiled. "I don't care, Luke."

"Really? Rachel always wanted me to move."

The corners of Lorelai's beautiful mouth dropped. "Rachel?"

"Ex-girlfriend," Luke mumbled.

"Ah, right ... the one who left a year ago?"

"Yep."

Short silence arose, in which their blue eyes connected. Then Lorelai took his hand. "Come on up, we have a lot to talk about."

And then she pulled him towards the stairs, while Luke tried hard not to interpret too much into everything.

 _She_ was pulling _him_ towards the stairs. She had frowned when he had mentioned Rachel, as if she was jealous.

What was all this about?

As Luke opened the door to his apartment, he could hear Lorelai gasp for air quietly.

"It's a little cheesy," Luke said, suddenly feeling dumb for having placed candles on the table. It wasn't a date after all. They were friends and their meeting had been set up so they could _talk._

"It's ... wow," Lorelai said quietly.

"You may run, I won't hold you back," Luke mumbled, but Lorelai stepped inside instead.

"You cooked?"

"Yep."

"Wine?"

Luke grimaced. "Yeah."

"Candles."

"If you don't like it, then go," Luke said gruffily and put his hands into the pockets of his jeans. But Lorelai turned to him, smiling.

"No, I won't."

"Okay. Then stop telling me what I did to make the atmosphere a little better."

"Sorry, Mr. Grumpy-pants," Lorelai giggled and while Luke hung up her coat, she walked to the table and sat down on a chair. "It smells fantastic."

"Thanks, I hope it tastes just as good," Luke replied and sat down as well.

"I'm sure about that. Didn't know you'd cook, though. I thought we'd just sit down and have a talk."

"We're sitting, Lorelai. Talk."

Lorelai nodded shortly. "You first, so I can eat."

Luke had to laugh. She was adorable. "About?"

"Rachel."

"Well ... she left a year ago to see the world."

"I know. Who broke up?"

"I did," Luke sighed. "Told her if she walked out now, it would be over."

"Ugh," Lorelai made and took a bite of her lasagna. "Mhhh!"

Luke smiled. "Good?"

"Amazing!" Lorelai replied with her mouth full. "And she left."

"Yes. She has left before and that time was the second time we've tried. The second time was worse than the first time, though. We're not made for each other."

"But you loved each other," Lorelai stated.

"Hm, yeah. Maybe." Luke avoided her eyes, afraid that she could see the feelings inside his. He had actually thought he had truly loved Rachel ... and then Lorelai had entered his life and totally messed with his image of love.

"That's hard, but you'll find someone who won't ever leave you," Lorelai said gently and he looked at her again. Her eyes looked so dark, thanks to the candles being the only light source by the table.

"Now you," Luke demanded. "You're much more interesting than I am. Spill, and don't miss anything."

"Uh, I don't know. It's really, really private," Lorelai sighed deeply but put her fork away. "Please don't tell anyone. Only Chris knows, no one else can know. Not even Rory."

Luke nodded stiffly. What could it be?

"During my pregnancy, I had terrible mood swings. I was so, so scared of failing and when I had Rory, I ... looked at her and I couldn't feel love. Do you know what a postpartum depression is?"

"I think so, yeah," Luke said quietly. "You had that?"

"Yes. And I spent months and months at a psychiatric clinic, not able to see Rory. I think it was six months. Could have been worse, I know, but that meant I've missed the first six months of my daughter's life. When I came back, healthy, I was so ashamed and I swore to myself to never let her down again. Chris was a perfect dad during those six months ... and even my parents were a big help."

"That sounds horrible, Lorelai ..."

"Yeah. And now to the part that no one knows. I still have ... problems."

She looked at her plate.

"You still have a postpartum depression?" Luke asked and Lorelai actually laughed.

"Not postpartum. It's a normal depression. Nothing serious, but bad enough to put me back into the clinic every few months. My shrink calls it a relapse and he says, as long as it only lasts a few days, it's nothing severe. Rory had no idea I was at a clinic. She thought I was at a normal hospital. My parents don't know either. Only Chris knows and now you do too."

"But why?" Luke asked softly.

"You tell me. Weren't you the one who called me unhappy and sad?"

Luke clenched his fists. "It's Christopher. He's hemming you in. He's treating you like his property."

For a few seconds Lorelai stared at him, then she broke into loud laughter. "Oh my - no! You really should get to know him, Luke. He's not the bad guy, really."

"I don't get it, why do you always order salad, then?"

Now Lorelai really looked confused. "What on earth - _not_ because of Chris," she said slowly. "How would you think -?" her eyes went wide and then she said calmly, "Luke. Christopher is my best friend. We've known each other for fifteen years now. Or even longer. He's seen me during my best and during my worst time. I didn't lie, I love him. And he loves me, he'd never ever - how did you say? Hem me in. Treat me like his property. I'm quite the free spirit. My ... my shrink told me I should eat less sweets. You know how carbohydrates work? Not the best for my psyche, you see. Mostly I end up back at the clinic after eating a whole cake ... last week it happened cause of a huge cup of Ben & Jerry's."

"Oh," Luke said quietly. "I didn't ... I'm sorry."

"We both have a sad past," Lorelai said with a gentle smile.

"Is there more I should know?" Luke asked carefully and Lorelai pushed her lasagna around her plate.

"There are a few things," she said, "but they're really private."

"You dont have to tell me," Luke immediately said but then he remembered what Lorelai had said in the morning. "Does it have to do with Chris hurting you but not physically?"

"Oh, damn," Lorelai sighed and leaned back. "You don't forget anything. It wasn't that bad, actually. When Rory was six, something happened and that happening changed our relationship. But let's not discuss this now. I don't want you to hate Chris."

"Too late," Luke mumbled and Lorelai sighed.

"He's not the bad guy."

Luke couldn't help it. He didn't believe her.

•

After they had eaten and shared some meaningless anecdotes from their life, Lorelai told Luke that she had to leave. It was only ten in the evening, they had had two glasses of wine and a nice chat on Luke's couch.

Luke felt sad as Lorelai announced that she had to go home, but he knew he couldn't change it. At least she had spent the evening with him, they had talked, laughed and even touched each other.

The touching continued as Luke helped her into her coat and Lorelai placing her hand on Luke's shoulder as they walked downstairs.

He walked her to the door and unlocked, opening it and letting chilly air into the diner.

"It's cold," Lorelai pointed out and Luke pulled her into an awkward hug.

"I'm not good with hugging," he told her and Lorelai laughed, hugging him back.

"You're doing fine," she said and they leaned back, looking at each other while still holding each other.

Luke noticed a mischievous sparkle in Lorelai's eyes, and before he could do anything, Lorelai had already leaned in.

And placed her lips on Luke's lightly.


	5. Chapter 5

Luke pushed her away, gently but certainly.

"What the hell, Lorelai?" he said quietly.

"I just wanted to say good night," Lorelai answered but she didn't sound sorry. She also didn't look like she was sorry.

"That's not a proper way to say good night when you're married," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai just smiled - Luke couldn't help it - in a flirty way.

"Good night, Luke," she then said. "Thanks for tonight. I really needed that."

"I'm here if you wanna talk again," Luke replied a little rough before letting her out and closing the door behind her.

His lips were burning, even though she had just touched them gently. He hated himself for pushing her away but he knew he'd hate himself even more if he had let her deepen the kiss.

But why had she kissed him in the first place?

What the hell was wrong with her?

She was married, not even a kiss on his cheek would have been appropriate from her side.

Luke didn't know what had gotten into her - but he knew for sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep at all.

•

Lorelai didn't come to the diner the next day.

But the day after she was there, right in the morning. And for a change Kirk wasn't.

"Are we alone?" she asked and Luke gulped. He nodded and Lorelai smiled her breathtaking smile. Then she took his hands, pulled him close and locked their eyes. "How are you?"

"Better than yesterday," Luke said quietly.

"Oh no, what happened yesterday?" Lorelai asked with concern.

"You weren't there."

Lorelai smiled broader. "You missed me?"

Luke nodded. And Lorelai let go of him, got up, leaning back. "What exactly did you miss?" she whispered, slowly starting to unbutton her beige coat.

"All of you," Luke said quietly. "But listen, this is not okay. You're married."

"He doesn't have to know," Lorelai purred and Luke backed away.

He started at Lorelai's undone coat and moaned. How weak he was for her freckled chest.

"No," he said, determined. "I can't do this. I'm not an affair."

"What if I told you that you aren't?" Lorelai said gently.

"What do you mean?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I like you."

"I like you, too," Luke replied. "And I would do anything to get you away from Christopher. Anything but _that._ "

"You're a good man," Lorelai said and sat back down on her stool. "Okay, I think it's time to tell you the rest of my story."

"Really?" Luke was speechless. "The story of how Christopher hurt you and you're still with him?"

"Yes, Luke. That story." Lorelai suddenly stared on her hands. Luke did too and noticed that her nails were bitten off.

"You don't have to talk though, if it makes you uncomfortable," Luke said gently and placed his hand above hers.

"How do you know it makes me uncomfortable?"

"Your nails."

"What about them - oh. You've noticed." Lorelai's voice sounded thin.

"I did. Your nails are usually long and manicured."

"Damn, you look closely," Lorelai said with a light grin. "Yeah, I bite my nails when I'm uncomfortable, stressed or nervous. Turns out I'm quite nervous around you."

"Are you serious? Why? It's just me. Maybe you feel uncomfortable around me." Luke couldn't believe it.

"No, it's not _just_ you," Lorelai replied gently. "It's ... _you_ _._ I can't explain it.

"Try," Luke breathed.

"Hm, you're nice and gentle, good looking and sweet and I ... I just feel nervous around you ..." Lorelai avoided his eyes. Her cheeks turned darker and Luke had to smile.

Without a warning he took her shoulders, pulled her against him and crashed his lips on hers.

A small moan escaped Lorelai's lips and Luke placed his hand on the back of her head, pulling her closer. Their lips parted and the tips of their tongues touched lightly.

Lorelai moaned louder, letting him enter.

Luke's heart was racing a marathon and the butterflies inside his stomach turned into birds, no, eagles. Suddenly he could feel Lorelai's hands on his cheeks and how she pulled him even closer against him.

Their tongues melted together. Their lips seemed as if they were glued together.

Luke would have continued to kiss her, if he hadn't felt a sudden reaction inside his pants.

Thank God the counter was between them, otherwise she definitely would have felt it.

He pulled away, but only for an inch, so their lips didn't touch anymore. Then he leant his forehead against hers.

"That's how I feel about you," he said quietly.

Lorelai's eyes were still closed. "Is that so?" she whispered.

"Oh, yes. If I could have, I would've kissed you the first day you've set a foot in here."

Now Lorelai opened her eyes. Their blue orbs connected and Luke noticed with a shock that hers were full with tears.

"Oh no, Lorelai," he mumbled and wanted to kiss her again, but this time she rejected him.

"I have to go," she choked out and quickly gathered her things. She took her purse and coat and almost fled out of the diner.

"Don't you want a -"

 _Coffee,_ Luke had wanted to say, but the door was already closed.

If Lorelai Hayden left before she got a coffee, the situation had to be serious.

Luke leant against the counter, staring at the coffee machine.

Damn.

They had kissed. _Passionately_ kissed.

Luke went crazy with the thought about how good she had tasted.

And smelled.

And felt.

They would have continued if that ... _reaction_ hadn't occurred.

He closed his eyes, reminiscing the memory. How she had touched him, pulled him closer ...

The door went open, the bell chimed and Luke turned around, hoping it was Lorelai.

But it was Kirk, greeting him and sitting down at his table. "No Lorelai this morning?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

Luke could relate to his disappointment.

•

It was around four in the afternoon.

Luke had a bad day like almost never before, even though he should have been over the moon because of his and Lorelai's kiss from the morning.

But he wasn't.

The fact that she had fled and not even called him, made him realise that he had fucked up. They'd made a huge mistake.

Lorelai was _married_ after all.

That was when Luke realised that they'd never be together and the fact that Christopher Hayden entered just that moment didn't make it better.

And also Christopher went right to him, pointing at him.

"Luke Danes, we have to talk."

Oh. Fuck.

Luke nodded stiffly. Did he know?

He told Caesar to take over for a while, then he told Christopher to follow him upstairs.

Christopher was calm while they walked up but Luke was sure he'd hit him once they were in his apartment.

He let him enter and Christopher looked around. "Nice apartment."

"It was my dad's office once," Luke said stiffly. Christopher hadn't hit him yet. Was that a good sign?

"Hmm," the other man just said and sat down on the couch.

"Have a seat, will you," Luke said gruffly and Chris laughed.

"Relax. I came to talk about my wife."

_His wife._

Luke swallowed hard and nodded. "What about her? Is she okay?"

"Not really," Christopher sighed and Luke sat down too, far away from him, on a chair.

"What's wrong? Is she back at the clinic?"

"Wow, she told you everything, huh?" Chris said and Luke shook his head.

"Not everything."

"I see. But she tells me everything."

Luke's heart skipped a beat. Oh.

"What has she told you?"

"I know you kissed."

He sounded so calm, Luke was sure he would kill him any second. He scanned his body, looking for a hidden knife or gun.

"I know that she started the whole thing. I know you pushed her back because she's married to me. And I know that you care about her deeply."

Now he even _smiled_ _._

Luke was confused. "Aren't you mad?" he dared to ask.

"Oh, please. I'm above that," Christopher replied calmly. "Anyway, she was a bit done today, as she ended her shift. She came home and cried. I just needed to talk to you after that. She likes you as well, Luke. Here's the thing - I have an appointment tonight and Rory's with a friend. Why don't you come over so you two can talk?"

"What?" Luke asked. "Are you serious?"

"Totally. I want her to be happy again."

Christopher seemed honest. And calm. Not angry at all. Not jealous or mad. Not even a bit.

"I'm confused," Luke pointed out. "I kissed your wife."

Christopher sighed. "Talk to her. She has to explain one thing or two to you. I could do, too ... but that's her job. I beg you, go to her tonight. Do whatever you want to do and need to do. She needs you and you need her, right?"

"This conversation is weird," Luke muttered and Christopher laughed.

"Promise me to visit her tonight and it'll all make sense." He stood up and offered his hand to Luke.

Luke eyed the outstretched hand. "Are you going to kill me, Mr. Hayden?"

"Why would you think so? No, I won't. And please, Chris is fine."

"Hm. Okay, Chris," Luke said and accepted the hand shake.

Christopher smiled lightly. "Thanks for the talk. I'll be leaving at seven."

Luke nodded stiffly, his mind turning.

He watched Chris walk out of the door, not sure what just had happened.

He had kissed a married woman and her husband was fine with it. More than that, he was pushing them together.

This was weirdness on a very high level.

But Luke knew what he'd do. Of course he would go to her house tonight, to talk to her.

And if Chris had lied to him and was just waiting to actually kill him, his suffering and craving for Lorelai would at least be over then.

•

At eight o'clock straight he rang the doorbell. He hid the bouquet of flowers behind his back, in case someone who wasn't Lorelai would open.

But he was lucky.

Lorelai opened.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise. It seemed she hadn't expected anyone, as she was wearing silky, light purple pyjamas and no make up. Her hair was done in a messy bun and Luke had to smile.

She was stunning.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded and stepped aside to let him enter. She locked the door and turned to him.

"These are for you," Luke mumbled and pressed the flowers against her chest.

"Wow, thanks," Lorelai said quietly. "Why?"

"Because this morning hasn't ended well." He looked around. "Are you alone?"

"Yes," Lorelai simply replied.

Oh.

Wow.

So Chris really hadn't intended to kill him.

"Where's Chris?"

"Chris," Lorelai started with a grin, "has a date."

"A work date?" Luke asked and Lorelai shook her head.

"A hot date with a hot woman that will eventually end with them both having sex," she said casually and Luke's mouth dropped open.

"Okay, Lorelai, now talk to me. I am so confused about your and Christopher's relationship," he shouted, way louder than he had wanted to.

"Okay, okay," Lorelai shouted back, grabbed his hand and pulled him into the huge living room. She forced him to sit down on the couch and started pacing up and down in front of him. "I'm going to tell you everything and you are not going to interrupt me, are we clear?"

Luke just nodded and Lorelai took a deep breath before she started telling everything to him.

"Rory was six and Chris and I had been married for four years. And already back then we both knew that it had been a mistake. We married with eighteen, because Chris proposed and I said yes. And Chris proposed because my dad had wanted him to. You know that story already. Anyway, we were only twenty-two, we had a six year old daughter in school but we were a typical married couple already. We fought constantly. We didn't have sex anymore. Like ... nothing. I didn't want him to touch me, he didn't want to touch me. We talked about divorce but stayed together because of Rory, money and my parents. I know. Very stupid."

She sighed.

"So, Rory was six and I knew I didn't love him anymore. No, I wasn't in love with him anymore. I still cared about him deeply. He turned out to be a very good friend, he was always there for me, but we weren't in love anymore. And one day I found out why he wasn't in love with me anymore. Chris had an affair."

Luke gasped and Lorelai shot a look at him.

"No interruptions. Yes, Chris had met a girl and he had been sleeping with her behind my back. When he told me, I was indifferent about it. I didn't care. I wasn't even jealous and I told him. I said it was okay for me. I told him, he could continue sleeping with her, and if he ever notices that he's in love with her, we'd get a divorce. After that he told me I could do the same if I wanted to. The same night I went out and went home with a guy. I told Chris the next day and he ... he congratulated me like a friend. We had a long talk after that and decided to stay together for various reasons. We've been in an open marriage ever since then."

Lorelai finally came to stand in front of Luke and looked down at him.

"We're married. But we're nothing more than friends. It works like an alibi marriage. He has had so many affairs since then and so have I. It was okay for me ... until I met you."

Luke stared back at her without saying a word. Lorelai chuckled.

"You can talk now."

"Why is it different with me?" Luke asked quietly.

"Because I don't want you to be my affair," Lorelai whispered and sat down next to him. She placed her hand on his thigh, gently caressing it. "There are feelings I have never felt before. I have strong feelings for you. And I'm mentally exhausted, because I've never thought that I would be the one to fall in love with someone. I always thought it would be Chris ... I've always imagined how he told me he had fallen for a girl and how happy I'd be for him. How we'd tell Rory and our parents. It was so easy in my mind." She looked at him. "It's not that easy in reality."

Luke released the breath he had been holding. "Why? I'm in love with you too," he said quietly and Lorelai's features softened.

"I can't be with you," she whispered, followed by tears streaming out of her eyes. "It's too complicated. I can't do this to my daughter and ... everyone will talk about me and my parents will cut me out of their will."

She jumped up.

"Get out of here," she ordered.

"Lorelai, let's talk like adults," Luke pleaded but Lorelai shook her head, determined.

"Get out. It hurts seeing you." She tried to laugh but it turned out to be a sob.

"Shh," Luke mumbled and took a brave step forward, hugging her. Lorelai cried into his shoulder quietly.

"I can't be with you. It won't work. If I wasn't only having those feelings ..."

Luke was speechless.

Lorelai Hayden was _in love_ with him. She had said he was more than an affair. And still she didn't want to to divorce Christopher.

Because of her daughter, for sure.

There was only one solution.

"Hey, baby, listen here," he mumbled and kissed her temple. "I won't ask you to divorce him. I'm okay with an affair. Maybe it won't work out anyway. I'm ready to try. I love you and I want to try."

Lorelai looked at him. Even with red eyes she looked gorgeous. "Really?" she sniffed.

"Really." Luke kissed her forehead. "I'd rather be your affair than lose you."

Lorelai chuckled lightly. "Let's talk some more, then," she whispered and placed her head on his shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

He led her back into the living room.

They had wine, talked some more, and then switched on the television to watch Casablanca.

Lorelai was lying more on top of Luke than next to him, and Luke enjoyed that. He hugged her, pulled her close and enjoyed watching the movie with the - he was sure by now - love of his life.

By the end of the movie Lorelai had almost fallen asleep.

He had to shake her gently, after which she looked up at him, her face drowsy and her eyes not able to stay open.

"I love so much right now," he chuckled and pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear.

"Why so?" Lorelai asked sleepily.

"Because you are perfect. Your silky pyjamas and no make up at all ... you're a natural beauty."

"Wait til you see me naked," Lorelai mumbled and Luke stared at her with an open mouth.

"I think it's a bit too early to do that already," he said gently. "But I could pick you up and carry you upstairs, as you're already almost falling asleep on me."

"Try carrying me upstairs," Lorelai chuckled gently. "I'm way too heavy."

Luke kissed her forehead and carefully picked her up in a bridal style. "Not heavy. You're just tall." He rubbed his nose against hers. "There's a difference."

Lorelai answered with another gentle laugh and then their eyes melted into each other's, which made Luke unable to breathe for a moment.

He held her tight against his body and brought her to the stairway. It was indeed easy, as she wasn't completely unconscious and thus helping him by making herself lighter.

"Where to, princess?" Luke asked.

"Down the aisle and into that one room on the left side," Lorelai mumbled into his neck and kissed it afterwards. "Thank you."

Luke kicked the door open with his foot, carried her to the bed and placed her down gently. "I should go now."

"No, wait," Lorelai whispered and pulled him down, next to him. "You can stay. Chris won't return until tomorrow and Rory won't come home this night either. Stay with me."

"Lorelai, I'd love to," Luke said gently, "but I should head home as long as it's dark, so no one will see me sneaking out of your house in the morning, hm?"

"Oh, you're right." Lorelai giggled a little. "Then stay with me for a while and head home later. What do you say?"

Luke smiled. "Okay."

"Come here," Lorelai ordered and patted on the free spot next to her.

Luke obliged and as soon as he had lay down, her lips found his.

Luke gave in, unable to do anything else. Unwilling to do anything else.

This evening had gone great so far, and even though he and Lorelai had agreed to have an affair only, it was better than nothing.

At least he got to be with her.

And she got to be on top of him.

Luke moaned as her lips sucked his throat and her hands roamed his chest. Found the buttons of his flannel and popped them open like nothing.

Her hands now touched his skin and it felt as if a million electric shots went through him thanks to only her touch and her kisses.

She pulled away. "Are you okay?" she whispered. "You're not fully there, are you?"

"Not fully," Luke admitted and Lorelai got off of him. "I think I first have to sleep a night over everything."

Lorelai's face fell. "But you - you said you're willing to try. You said - You said you wanna try."

"I do, I do," Luke said quickly. "Really, babe. "But we should slow it down. Even though you're in an open marriage, you're still married. What if people notice that we are fond of each other? And then there's Rory - I suppose she doesn't know?"

"Of course she doesn't," Lorelai muttered. "I doubt she even knows what an open relationship is. And if she knew that her beloved parents are having such ... oh, dear god."

"So what if, hypothetically, you and I would start dating for real, what if this thing what we're having is real?" Luke asked and Lorelai bit her lip.

"Then Chris and I would get a divorce and we'd just tell Rory that we've found new partners. Because Chris also has on-off thing with a woman and they could finally make it official. We wouldn't tell anyone about our open marriage. Maybe we'd tell Rory one day, when she's like thirty or so."

"Okay. Hm. What about your parents, would they approve of me?"

Lorelai smiled. "Not in a million years."

"Great," Luke muttered but Lorelai laughed and took his hand.

"Babe, relax. It is my life. This is my choice. And if this thing with us is real -" she smiled at him, "then we'll make it happen. Alright?"

"Alright," Luke answered and leaned in, kissing her again.

Until he remembered something.

"Can I ask you something private?"

"Sure, anything," Lorelai said sweetly.

"Will you ... while you and I are in a relationship - _affair_ I mean ..." he took a deep breath. "Will you continue sleeping with Christopher?"

He expected laughing, but instead Lorelai looked kind of hurt. "No," she said loudly. "I'm not a slut. Chris has been in a few relationships already and back then we've never even kissed. No, Luke. I only belong to you now."

"Oh, okay." Luke couldn't hide his relief, so Lorelai went on.

"I think I can count how often Chris and I have had sex during those last six years. Let me see. There was this one time last year at Thanksgiving, that spontaneous drunk sex, Christmas, my birthday, ..." She went quiet and stared into the air. And after a while she looked back at him. "Fifteen times within six years. Maybe more and maybe less, of course I can't remember every time we've slept with each other. But believe me, Luke, ever since I've met you ... zero times."

A warm feeling spread in Luke's chest. "Really? Because of me?"

"Yeah. Chris tried about a week ago, but I said no. He asked if it was because of a man, so I said yes. He then asked me until I told him about you."

"He actually wants us to be together?" Luke asked. He slowly started to like the guy.

"He wants me to be happy. That's what I meant with that we love each other. We do ... like best friends. Friends with occasional benefits." She chuckled. "He's had a girlfriend too a while ago. Lucy. Which is funny, cause it sounds almost like Luke."

"It doesn't," Luke insisted but Lorelai ignored him.

"I've met her. She's really cute. Quite tiny and blonde, completely the opposite of me. I think Chris was really in love with her but he never even asked me for a divorce. I still don't know why, I would have said yes. Of course Lucy had enough after about a year and she broke up with him. She accused him of lying and that he was still loving me. He came home after the breakup and he - he cried. I have never felt so sorry for him. Back then I noticed that I want him happy as well. And back then we agreed to split, if we'd ever meet a Lucy again. And here you are ... my male Lucy."

"Don't call me your male Lucy," Luke said, quite taken aback from her story.

Maybe he _was_ her male Lucy.

"Okay, then I'll just call you Lucy," Lorelai mumbled and rubbed her nose against Luke's chest.

"Don't you dare," Luke replied gently and Lorelai chuckled.

"Do you want to know anything else?" she asked and Luke shrugged lightly.

"Only how such a perfect woman like you could fall for someone like me."

"I'm not perfect," Lorelai replied immediately but Luke shook his head.

"I'm my eyes you are. True, your coffee consumption could be less but -"

"Haha," Lorelai mocked.

"In my eyes you're perfect," Luke repeated. "And I'm ... me. Serious and grumpy diner owner. I'm not rich, not fancy, I don't own a nice house, no pool and I own a damn old truck instead of a fancy white Mercedes."

"Love is about more than materialism," Lorelai said widely. "Do you really think I care about things? I don't, Luke. I've told you about my sense of humans. Well, from the first time we've met I could sense your kindness and that you are a good person. I fell in love with your qualities." She grinned lightly. "And your good looks."

"You think I'm good looking?" Luke was stunned. "Better than Christopher?"

"Chris is very handsome," Lorelai said casually, "but we've been friends for so long. Married for so long. I can't really see him like the man he was before. He's just there now. It's hard to explain. Like, imagine you grow up with someone very beautiful. Say, your mom is really beautiful, but since she's your mom and you've known her your whole life, you can't see her beauty from a neutral view. Do you know what I mean?"

"You acknowledge that Christopher is handsome but you can't see it anymore, because he has been with you for about fifteen years now," Luke summarised. "I think I understand what you mean."

Lorelai nodded and kissed Luke's chest gently. "I think you're very good looking. You have a great body and a face that s very pleasant to look at. Also I kinda like that rough and wild style, that gruffy but soft personality of yours. I think I've needed that in life. A little bit of adventure, you get me?"

"I get you," Luke replied with a smile. "And adventure you'll get, my dear."

"I hope so," Lorelai sighed. "So, how'd you fall for me?"

"Oh, dear," Luke breathed out. "I guess it won't sound as nice as when you put it but ... the first time I saw you, I was completely stunned by your beauty. I knew what my taste of women was and when I saw you, it was like I was looking at all the attractive traits of a woman combined in you. The eyes, the hair, the body, the smile, the voice, the charisma, the humour and even the melancholy ... somehow I immediately knew that I needed you."

"Aww," Lorelai mumbled and hugged him, pulling him closer to herself. "I didn't know I had that effect on you."

"You made me feel completely dumb. And I almost died when I found out you had a family. I can only say, I'm glad that you and Chris are in an open marriage."

"You're glad I was unhappy?" Lorelai asked and Luke shook his head quickly.

"No! I never wanted you to be unhappy but - wait. You _were_ unhappy?"

"Today I am more than happy," Lorelai whispered. "And I know that many happy days will follow. This feels right, Luke. This thing with us. Are you in?"

Luke nodded, his mouth dry. "I already said so. I'm in, Lorelai. I am completely in."

•

Luke was smiling.

He was so over the moon with everything happening around him, he just couldn't stop being in a good mood.

It was affecting everyone, because Luke being _that_ happy was indeed something rare.

And something that worked a circuit in the whole town.

Somewhen in the late afternoon Christopher stepped by. "Hey, buddy," he greeted Luke and Luke, kind of surprised by this nice greeting, nodded at him.

"Hey ... friend."

Chris sat down at Lorelai's usual spot and ordered a coffee to go. "So, I heard you had a great time last night?"

Luke nodded shortly. "It was great. Thanks for everything," he said, lowering his voice. "I owe you."

"Oh, please." Chris waved it off. "I just want her to be happy. Say, you got lucky, didn't you?"

Luke almost dropped the coffee. "Didn't Lorelai tell you? I thought she told you everything."

"So I thought," Chris replied. "But apparently not. Seems you're important to her, otherwise she would have spilled everything. You know, she and I have this little thing going on, whenever we had sex with someone, we told each other everything, like friends do. But when I came home just an hour ago and told her about my amazing night, she just kept smiling and not saying a word. I just assumed you two had done it as well."

"Its actually none of your business," Luke said calmly.

"I know it isn't. It's just ... if she and you want to really start dating, I have to know. So I can get out of the way. You know what I mean? We have to find a way to keep Rory away from it and eventually, if the thing between the two of you is the _real thing,_ we'll have to talk about our futures and decide how Rory's gonna fit in it. And we'll have to set up a story so no one assumes that Lorelai has been cheating on me." Chris sighed. "Look. I'm happy for you two but I kind of hoped that it would be just a loose thing. Not for my sake, but for _our_ sakes. It's good the way it is right now and if something changes, it's going to be really complicated."

Luke nodded. "I understand. But I'm afraid it's not a loose thing."

"I know," Chris replied. "And again, I'm really happy for you. But it just happens to make things complicated. Thanks for the coffee."

He placed the money for the beverage on the bar and grabbed the cup.

"See you, pal."

"See you," Luke muttered and waited until Chris had left the diner. " _Buddy_."


End file.
